“Knowledge management is something many companies are sure they need, if only they knew what it was.” – Mary Lisbeth D’Amico
Sometimes you never really know that you need something until it is given to you. The quote by Henry Ford that said “If I had asked people what they needed, they would have said faster horses” resonated with me as I participated in the Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development (KM4AgD) Conference 2024. The conference which took place between 29 – 31 July 2024 at Lemigo Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda provided me with insights I did not know I needed. It was one of many conferences organised under the Science and Partnerships for Agriculture Conference (SPAC) 2024 and was themed ‘Scaling up Successful Knowledge Management Models for Agricultural development in Africa’.
SPAC brought together over 340 agricultural enthusiasts from different countries to discuss issues concerning agriculture in the continent. Despite efforts being made in the attainment of the Malabo declaration to end hunger in Africa by 2025, 50% of Africa’s population still lack access to sufficient food. I was surprised to learn that, Rwanda is the only country on track towards achieving these goals. This then poses the question, “What is happening to the other 53 countries?” These conferences and side events therefore aimed at discussing ways of improving agriculture to ensure sustainable development in Africa through collective learning and knowledge and experience sharing. The discussions underscored the need to deepen our collaborations and foster collective efforts. Effective partnerships was identified as one of the key drivers in achieving the Africa we want.
“Our collective intention should be to connect, to reflect, to construct, to commit and to ensure accountability to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of our actions – Bongiwe Njobe, Board Chair, FARA
The KM4AgD conference was indeed an enlightening forum for me. It provided a platform for interacting with knowledge management experts and advocates. The discussions took a variety of formats including group discussions, knowledge cafes and individual presentations. Knowledge indeed is at the heart of humanity. Knowledge management was identified as a major contributor to organisational performance and effective decision-making.
Issues such as strengthening knowledge linkages, indigenous knowledge, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive knowledge management were discussed. It was great watching participants who had identified some challenges facing the agriculture sector provide practical solutions and recommendations to address them. There was a collective acknowledgment of the power of timely knowledge-sharing and the need to ‘let knowledge travel’. One of the key highlights that stood out for me was the need to make knowledge available, accessible and applicable.
Some participants presented interesting agricultural techniques such as micro-dosing and integrated soil fertility management being practiced in some indigenous communities that could improve agricultural yield.
To crown the conference, a knowledge café was held that sought to gather perspectives on the way forward regarding knowledge management for effective agricultural development. This was my first time attending an in-person knowledge café. I even sat at the same table with the Deputy Director General in charge of Agricultural Development, Dr. Florence Uwamahoro, very brilliant and simple lady.
The discussions centred around creating open agricultural commons for Africa, capitalising on the continent’s community knowledge and identifying the investments needed to sustain our agriculture for development KM systems. It was indeed a life-changing event as it expanded my network and served as a springboard in propelling me into my KM journey.
Climate change has continued to be a global concern that threatens food security resulting in pests and diseases with increased or decreased potency.
Among the major crops in Zambia, Cassava is affected by Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Disease. Sweet potato is affected by Sweet Potato Virus Disease (SPVD. Maize is affected by the fall Army Worm pest (FAW) which causes significant damage to maize. this calls for accurate identification and sustainable management of the FAW, Cassava diseases, and sweet potato diseases among major stakeholders, the small-scale farmers, which is lacking and inadequate due to mainly inadequacies in the extension services.
Therefore, the development of the PlantVillage app as an innovative solution that uses Artificial intelligence (AI) through Google’s open-source TensorFlow technology is being proposed to be used to identify symptoms of CMD, CBSD, the feeding damages of Cassava Green mites (CGM) and maize fall armyworm (FAW) infestations. The app will be used in the development of risk assessment tools, predicting the potential distribution and damage of the targeted pests and diseases due to climate change, and supporting farmers at scale in pest and disease management.
The newly launched Plant Village project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to upscale the PlantVillage application for monitoring, forecasting, and mitigating the effects of climate change on pests and diseases of maize, cassava, and sweet potato in Zambia.
Speaking at the training workshop for PlantVillage Zambia Field technicians, which was held at Relaxin Lodge in Nchelenge district, Mathias Tembo who is the Senior Agriculture Research Officer under the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) in the Ministry of Agriculture says they are promoting the use of the PlantVillage application which uses Artificial intelligence (AI) among farming communities. This is an app that is installed on a mobile smartphone, and it is free of charge with a lot of information.
“The current problems we are facing are the effects of climate change, this season Zambia has been hit by the effects of climate change, with over 70 percent of the country failing to receive rainfall” He said.
Mr. Tembo who is also the principal Investigator for the PlantVilage project in Zambia expressed concern that crop production among farmers has adversely been affected by different pests and diseases. The PlantVillage application comes in very handy as it will be used by the farmers in their fields to identify problems of different types of diseases and pests.
Mr. Tembo said for now, the project is targeting Maize, Cassava, and sweet potato.
“In the first phase of the project we want to upscale this technology so that more farmers can be able to accept and utilize it, the target within the next six months is to reach out to about 20,000 farmers who will be utilizing this technology” Hehe said.
Mr. Tembo said they are utilizing the newly recruited Technicians who are graduates from different universities, who will be working with camp extension officers who are on the ground and will go out in the field to train farmers to adopt this technology.
“They will go out in the field to survey for pests and diseases out there in the fields, and this app will be able to collect this data and once the information is sent it will be used to solve future problems” Tembo said.
“This technology has been tested against experts from the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in its ability to identify pests and diseases, it was equal in strength in identifying these pests and diseases, and it was further tested against the extension officers, “ he said.
He said that AI technology is a new tool that should be welcomed and applied, it will not eliminate the jobs for human beings, itbut willrather speed up the process of finding solutions to problems.
And officiating at the same event, Nchelenge District Agriculture Coordinator Arnold Muimui says the PlantVillage application has come at the right time when the population of Nchelenge district is growing and needs good yields.
The DACO said factors such as climate change, pest infestation, and disease infections have become an important issue that affects crop production which has resulted in reduced yields hence food security is threatened.
He explained that said due to the effects of climate change pests and diseases have become evasive to the human eye and more evasive to his crops.
“For CBSD and CMD, mankind has not sat idle, people are working day and night to invent several means to resolve these stumbling blocks to food production, this is through utilization of Artificial Intelligence” He said
He said through financial support from USAID, Feed the Future program, ZARI has adopted the use of the PlantVillage app an artificial intelligence tool for detecting pests and diseases in crops.
The PlantVillage app is a game changer, I would rather call it a next-age extension service technology, it would not have come at a better time than this, I am happy we have this kind of technology in agriculture” he said.
Mr. Muimui said the objective of this training is to orient the field technicians on the utilization of the PlantVillage app to establish and facilitate data transfer, and development of approaches and means to control plant pests and diseases.
“My appeal is to the facilitators of this project, let them extend the PlantVillage app to the camp extension officers so that they can also be empowered to utilize this tool which will help our farmers to increase their crop yields” he said.
The app can be used to gather information on the dynamics of these crop protection matters to develop approaches and tools that can be used to control pests and diseases in crops, such as the use of natural enemies to control pests.
Authored by National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS)
The Knowledge Management for Agricultural Development Challenge 2024 #KM4AgD24, officially kicked off on Friday 5th April 2024 via a zoom webinar hosted by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and facilitated Knowledge Management and Communication Cluster leader Mr. Benjamin Abugri and Executive Director for the Knowledge for Development Partnership, Prof Andreas Brandner.
The Challenge’s objective is to improve the capture and dissemination of Knowledge materials, and to strengthen collaboration and alliances of African agricultural knowledge to support achievement of CAADP commitments and SDG targets. Seeking to bolster KM capacity building and generate content in response to the questions for the 2024 Challenge.
Prof. Andreas Brandner (K4DP) and Dr. Sarah Cummings (WUR) delivered opening statements to launch the Kickoff meeting and Challenge. A few past KM4AgD Candidates who are now KM4AgD Fellows also delivered introductory statements and bid this year’s candidates “all the best” during the challenge.
In attendance via zoom were the #KM4AgD24 candidates, their mentors, organizing institutions, stakeholders, collaborating partners including individuals across the global Knowledge Management community/network.
17 candidates in total were selected to take part in the 2024 Challenge, mentored by 21 Mentors/Facilitators. 5 candidates from INTERFACES and CORAF respectively, 4 candidates from CCARDESA, and one candidate each from AFAAS, CGIAR and WFP.
The KM4AgD24 challenge comprises of a certification course that will run from 8th April till 8th May 2024, 3 peer-learning sessions in May/June 2024 for KM Strategies and KM4D Award nominations, 4 sessions on the KM4AgD sector challenges knowledge brief development in May/June 2024 and will climax in Kigali, Rwanda for the 4th KM4AgD Conference 2024 and the KM4D Award Ceremony 29-31 July 2024, as part of the Science and Partnerships for Agriculture Conference 2024 #SPAC2024.
The Knowledge Management for Development Award programme is an initiative of the Knowledge for Development Partnership, established to encourage, guide and recognize organizations and companies to apply an integrated and systematic approach to knowledge management to better achieve the targets of the organization and to contribute to the sustainable development of citizens and societies.
To become a “Certified Knowledge Manager”, the selected candidates will demonstrate their ability to apply the lessons from the Certification course in their specific contexts, ie: developing a KM Strategy/Concept for their respective organisations, guided by their Mentors or facilitators in this process with procedures, templates and individual feedback and support. Other assignments can be agreed on, as per decisions taken in the course of the Challenge.
To be awarded “Certified Knowledge Manager for Sustainable Development”, candidates will need to apply the knowledge society learnings from the certification course in the context of agricultural development. Teams will be formed to identify KM challenges in the Agricultural sector and to co-create solutions. In previous KM4AgD Challenges, knowledge policy briefs were developed, but also other knowledge products can be created which advance knowledge in the African agricultural sector.
For more information and updates on progress throughout the #KM4AgD24 Challenge, kindly visit km4agd.faraafrica.org
The commitments of the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agriculture Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods will expire in 2025, which is next year. The Malabo Commitments, as they are usually referred to, were the product of a 2014 African Union Heads of State meeting in which member states committed to fostering agriculture-led development to reduce poverty and end hunger in Africa by 2025.
This targeted approach saw various African countries also commit to allocating 10% of their public expenditures to financing agriculture, boosting intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services, and ensuring a biennial review process to track and monitor the progress being made.
While a significant number of signatories to the Commitments are not on track to achieve some of the set targets, they have made significant progress in the right direction.
During a recently held training workshop on Knowledge Management and Monitoring /Reporting of Malabo Commitments in Chisamba, Zambia, brief analyses of Biennial Review Reports (BRRs) from various countries indicated that the political will to transform the agriculture sector remained aggressive, as evidenced by the existence of working policies and strategies designed to promote agriculture-led development.
The training workshop that the Centre facilitated for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and the E.U.-funded CAADP-XP4 brought together consultants, knowledge management experts, the media, the youth, and some government officials from Zambia’s ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries and Livestock to analyse the status of the Malabo Commitments in the SADC Region.
Issues surrounding harnessing data and information and connecting the information with people who need it were of particular importance.
Presentations from the event based on some countries’ BRRs indicated that most countries had established appropriate policies and strategies aimed at reducing poverty and ending hunger, which was indicative of progress in the desired direction. However, some concerns were raised about the accuracy of the data used to measure this progress.
There was an assertion that a significant amount of progress being under-reported was brought to fora as the consensus recognized the unavailability of data and/or inaccessibility to data during the compilation of the BRRs.
Dr. Martin Muchero – an international consultant with expertise in rural development and agriculture – was one of the participants at the training workshop that was held and agreed with this assertion to a valid extent.
He highlighted the need to network and share information through consistent reporting, a characteristic evident in countries like Rwanda and Egypt that were reportedly on track to meet the Malabo Commitments.
“Other countries that have done well are those countries that have put together good, sound agriculture information management systems,” Dr Muchero said
He added that reporting on investment in agriculture, for instance, needed to be broader than simply reporting on increases in farm production.
“Even constructing a road in the rural area that facilitates the farmer’s access to the market is an investment in agriculture…So let’s not think about the 10% investment [commitment to agriculture financing] as just what goes into the Ministry of Agriculture; let’s think about the small contributions that are being made at the local community level. That all counts, too,” Dr Muchero said.
Mr. Benjamin Abugri – the Knowledge Management and Outreach Officer for the Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa(FARA), echoed the need for key stakeholders to network in reporting their countries’ progress towards the Malabo Commitments.
“Knowledge management is not only about collecting and sharing information but also about connecting people to the information,” Mr. Abugri highlighted.
As the adage goes, if it’s not written down, then it didn’t happen.
The author is a National Agriculture Information Services (NAIS) Principal Agricultural Information Officer.
Despite the abundant resources that Africa is endowed with, the continent has been faced with several challenges, among them, access to markets, access to finance, and climate change, among others.
To offer solutions to the predicament African countries are faced with resulted in the actualisation of the Malabo Declaration in 2014. The Malabo declaration aim is to transform the agriculture sector. To enable the transformation and growth of the agriculture sector, The Malabo Declaration is anchored on seven pillars, which include; first, Recommitment to the principles and values of the CAADP process. Second, Enhancing investment finance in agriculture. Third, Ending hunger by 2025. Fourth, Halving poverty agriculture by 2025. Fifth, Boosting Intra-Africa trade in agricultural commodities and services. Sixth, Enhancing resilience to climate change and seventh, Enhancing mutual accountability for actions and results.
The pillars seek to collectively contribute to Africa’s agricultural transformation, poverty reduction and shared prosperity.
During the National Knowledge Management, Data capture, and monitoring/reporting Malabo commitments training workshop in Lusaka, Zambia from March 25 to 27, 2024 organised by Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) with financial support of the EU-funded CAADP-X4 Programme, Indaba for Agricultural Policy Research Institute Senior Researcher Auckland Kuteya, offered some insights into the implantation of the Malabo commitment, noting that Zambia had made strides in reviewing the National Agriculture Plan 2014-2018 to inform the formulation of the second National Agriculture Investment Plan (2NAIP).
“The lessons learnt were useful in the formulation of the Comprehensive Agricultural Transformation Support Programme (CATSP) and the NAIP which has already been validated,” Mr Kuteya said.
Auckland Kuteya, Senior Researcher, IAPRI
Mr. Kuteya said the major programmes under the 2NAIP/CATSP are already being implemented and are aligned to the Eighthly National Development Plan (2002-2026).
He also said a national technical working group was already constituted as well as trained and established the reporting process to help track activities in line with the Malabo declaration, adding that even data clusters were established to facilitate data collection and validation.
Mr. Kuteya explained that one of the pillars focused on achieving 10 percent allocation to the agriculture budget thereby making significant gains and also timely releases.
“The budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector has been steadily going up nominally,” said Mr. Kuteya.
Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock under Department of Policy and Planning Information Department Assistant Director Timothy Tonga stated that government has established a livestock breeding centre.
Timothy Tonga, Assistant Director, Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock
Mr. Tonga explained that government has invested US50million in aquaculture. The funds have also been made available to players in the value chain under the aquaculture seed fund.
“Farmers are accessing funds at 12 percent which is affordable meant to upscale their aquaculture activities,” he said.
Mr. Tonga noted that the increased investment in the aquaculture value chain is meant to promote more farmers embark on aquaculture, as it has attracted interest from Botswana.
And Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Principal Statistician Mweembwa Chijoka concurred that there was increased support to fingerlings production.
Mweembwa Chijoka, Principal Statistician, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
“There has been tremendous increase of fingerlings from over 200 million in 2020 to over 400 million in 2023,” Mr. Chijoka said.
He revealed that some neighbouring countries have shown interest and potential, which is a glimmer of hope given the increased market to produce and export.
While, to improve the seed system in Zambia, there is need to continuously support farmer communities to harness indigenous seeds.
As CIAT Zambia Country Representative Emily Banda acknowledges that though Zambia is regarded as having a good seed system, stating that Zambia is among the top three countries in Africa, there is need to embrace indigenous seed and also promote indigenous foods in communities.
Emily Banda, Country Representative, CIAT Zambia
And Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Youth Network Zambia Susanna Phiri says raising pasture must be prioritised in farming communities so that its available within communities to avoid depletion of grazing areas.
Susanna Phiri, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Youth Network Zambia
Achieving the Malabo commitments in the long-term requires the participation of various players across sectors to work collaboratively in driving the agriculture agenda, only then will the transformation and growth of the agriculture sector be attained.
Authored by the Principal Agricultural Information Officer for the National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS)
The agriculture sector is critical to unlocking Africa’s potential, given that over 60 percent of the continent’s population is dependent on it. Despite Africa’s abundant potential, enormous challenges exist, such as poor access to inputs and markets and unsustainable practices. To address some of these concerns, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework aims to transform the agriculture sector.
The need to raise awareness of the Malabo and CAADP frameworks is apparent. Therefore, the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), through an EU-funded CAADP-XP4 Programme, organized a National Knowledge Management, Data capture, and monitoring/reporting Malabo commitments training workshop in Lusaka, Zambia, from March 25 to 27, 2024. The workshop drew participants from government ministries, researchers, and various stakeholders, including non-state actors such as farmer organizations.
The objective of the meeting was to familiarise the participants with knowledge management and data capture guidelines. More importantly, there was a need to establish a Knowledge Management Community of Practice that understands and can facilitate better monitoring of the national implementation of the Malabo declaration and sensitize the public to food security commitments. In addition, for the stakeholders to stay up to date, they need to disseminate Zambia’s 4th Biennial Review Report performance results. Ultimately, the media is mandated to raise awareness on key issues that impact communities and ensure coherence by promoting collaboration among national stakeholders in addressing the Malabo declaration commitments.
Ministry of Agriculture Chief Agriculture Officer Morton Mwanza said the Malabo commitments enhance resilience and production in African countries, including Zambia. They provide a visionary direction to ensure the growth of the agriculture sector despite some problematic issues, such as poor access to markets and inputs.
Mr. Mwanza explains that the agriculture sector employs over 70 percent of the workforce. This indicates that the sector has the potential to positively contribute to poverty reduction and employment.
“The Malabo Commitments are a vehicle to transforming the agriculture sector. This is the reason the government needs to track the Malabo commitments and at what stage we are at and strive to meet and reflect on how we have reached the stage we are at,” Mr. Mwanza clarified.
Mr. Kapulu Ndashe, Deputy Director, Zambia Agriculture Research Institute
In his official remarks, Zambia Agriculture Research Institute Deputy Director Kapulu Ndashe stated that the Malabo declaration and CAADP are not only frameworks but are well aligned to national development aspirations as they embody the significance of the agriculture sector.
Dr. Ndashe said that there is a need to invest in the agriculture sector to prioritize and address the youthful pathway. The importance of reflecting on the Malabo and CAADP performance for Zambia is that they are some of the initiatives which offer us a road map towards a more prosperous, sustainable, and food secure future”, Dr Ndashe said.
He reiterated the need for key players to commit themselves to attain the Malabo targets, knowing that the country’s collective efforts today will shape the agricultural landscape of Zambia for generations to come,” Dr Ndashe echoed.
He also acknowledged that knowledge management is the “cornerstone upon which the pillars of the Malabo declaration rest.”
Knowledge management offers a repertoire of information that harnesses collective wisdom, experiences, and innovations of Africa to foster an agricultural revolution that is not only inclusive but also sustainable.
Dr Ndashe says that addressing specific regional needs and challenges requires leveraging data and information, which is better placed to enforce appropriate interventions.
Simply put, the impacts of investments are informed by what information is shared on learning platforms to ensure that funds are directed towards the most effective and transformative interventions.
Dr. Frank Kayula, President, National Association for Small-Scale Farmers (Zambia)
“The commitment to ending hunger by 2025 requires a concerted effort to improve food security across our diverse landscapes,” Dr Ndashe reaffirmed.
CCARDESA Information, Communication, and Knowledge Management Officer Bridget Kakuwa-Kasongamulilo emphasized the role CCARDESA is playing through a systematic approach: contributing to social and economic growth through information provision and fostering collaboration.
Mrs. Kasongamulilo added that including women and youth helps support and strengthen the capacity of government, farmer organizations, researchers, and all 16 member states.
Responding to a question on whether CCARDESA plans to engage in fisheries programs, Dr. Frank Kayula, President of the National Association for Small-Scale Farmers and also a CCARDESA Board Member, said, “Previously, there were no fisheries programs, but now several project proposals handling components targeting fisheries and eco-rangelands have been developed to ensure all critical sectors are comprehensively included.”
To achieve some of the aspirations of the Malabo Declaration, Zambia needs to focus on strengthening the agricultural extension services, research institutions, farmer organizations, and policy coordination mechanisms. This should be reinforced by investing in institutional capacity building at both local and national levels; only then will tangible results be achieved.
Authored by the Principal Agricultural Information Officer for the National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS).
